I've not really been able to sit down and work on my blog for a while. Its not really because I am tired or bored of doing it, its just that I have been bogged down with so many things recently.
At work, I have to learn the jobs of two interns till the replacements come in, and this extra work keeps me busy all day. In addition, I am moving to a new place, and all my evenings after work go in moving my things and helping my new roommates move their things. But the move is done and I am waiting for an internet connection at my new apartment before I can get down to business again.
But some musings still. It seems the anti-quota stir among the doctors and students of India is stirring up again, because the Government just brought the bill into the House. I strongly believe that the bill will be passed, simply because it is in the interest of all the netas to keep this country divided.
I am finally beginning to find a lot more examples of writers who say that the reason our public education is in a mess is because it is, again, not in the interests of the netas to educate the masses. If only the masses can see through this and demand what is rightfully ours, i.e a right to education and a right to lead an a life of equality and freedom, without prejudice and injustice.
Meanwhile, there is a new controversy surrounding Vande Mataram. Apparently, it is unislamic for the Muslims of India to sing our national songs. I don't know what to say in this case. All I know is that I would like to take a big cricket bat and beat these bloody mullahs and the Darul-Uloom people in Deoband to a pulp. From being the centers of learning and philosophy, they have reduced themselves to their counterparts in Pakistan; rabid and orthodox. Please grow up. Your fate is attached to the fate of the country you live in, and singing praises of your motherland in no way constitutes unislamism.
Also, the government is increasing its attempts to play the big brother and decide what the people of this country can and cannot watch. Apparently a lot of television channels showing American movies and playing western shows are banned for showing smut. Oh my God, how will I get to see half-nude chicks now???
If you didn't get it, its sarcasm. What I am trying to say is that no government can beat technology. You can't watch a girl in a bikini on tv, then that kid will get his/her fix from the internet, or a pirated porno CD, or numerous other ways. Instead of trying to be an open society, we are trying to close it further. It is pretty much the same mentality that if a streetside romeo teases a girl because she is showing her legs, the girl should be punished. Bloody close-minded medieval cockroaches.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
A new RTI act and newer ways to subvert it
The RTI Act is a far reaching act, and relatively very new. Any well meaning act, if it has to start making a change, must be given time, and slowly and surely, everyday some news trickles in of how this act has enabled some disenfranchised citizen to get justice and/or get a fair hearing.
The Government had created an Information Commission too, and had given it enough teeth to justify its formation. But as you could imagine, any good thing is shortlived when it comes to the Indian government. I am sure that in 50 years of extreme incompetence and corruption, there will be a lot of skeletons hidden in any government department's closet, and sooner or later, this act will probably try to tumble them out.
The netas and babus are a strong lobby, and more often than not, they only work for themselves. The Government of India fully agrees, and that is why it has been trying to clip the wings of the RTI act for a while now. The government wants to keep all the personal notings on government files out of the purview of the act, and this act of subversion has been meeting stiff resistance from all and sundry, including the media. Now why would the government want to do that? Well, I dont know, and I can't imagine what are the things that babus and netas keep writing on these files before they send it back into the great circle of red tape. Another less reported news was the government also wants to clip the teeth of the knowledge commission. While it currently has power to act on its own and punish people, now the government wants its role to be strictly that of a consultant.
However, help for the act came in from the most unlikely of places, from Her Majesty! They say that she parlayed against any changes to the act, and the act seems safe for now.
According to a newsitem from Rediff, the government's attempt to curb the act have been on since last year, the same year the act was introduced and passed! Man, talk about short-term objectives.
However, looking at current news stories, the government has said that no such amendments will be introduced in this current monsoon session. This probably leaves the possibility, or should i say probability, of any such amendments being introduced at a later date. Only a few days ago, some MPs from a regional party asking for a Telengana state in AP withdrew support from the UPA, and I expect the government to be busy putting that fire out.
Centre backtracks on Information Act
Official sources said Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh received many representations against the proposed amendments, aimed at deleting "file notings" from the new transparency regime.
Ms. Gandhi is believed to have advised the Government that there should be wider consultations among the stakeholders before the controversy over the file noting provisions got sorted out.
In the Government's own narrative, "file notings" were never part of the Right to Information Act as passed by Parliament.
In this narrative, neither the Group of Ministers nor the Parliamentary Standing Committee had intended to include the words "file notings" in the definition of "information" given in Section 2(f).
A controversy arose because the Central Information Commission interpreted Section 2(f) to include "file notings." As the Central Information Commissioner, O.P. Kejriwal, told the media in July 2006, "Information minus the notings amounts to taking the life out of the RTI Act."
Mr. Kejriwal's dissent prompted the Prime Minister's Office to issue an elaborate explanation on July 26, 2006. In this it was clarified that even after the amendment the "file notings of all plans, schemes and programmes of the Government that relate to the development and social issues shall be disclosed."
According to officials, it would mean that only a small portion of the file notings relating to "personnel-related matters like examination, assessment and evaluation of recruitment, disciplinary proceedings, etc." was being kept out of the disclosure purview.
Nonetheless, various sections of civil society, as also the Information Commissioners, were not mollified. Social activist Anna Hazare of Maharasthra went on a fast.
The decision to defer making changes in the Right to Information Act is in response to the protests.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The good news about this whole thing is that public pressure actually seems to be working in India. I haev said a couple of times about how Congress is prone to any kind of pressure, and that due to lack of balls, it can change any stance as long as it feels it is not pissing off the votebanks. So yes, because people are pissed, Ms. Gandhi has realized that touching it would probably be a bad idea. Now you can come up to me and ask, "Yo Vasu, the public outcry has been greater for the government's attempt to divide our economy and our educational institutions into castes, so why doesn't the government seem to be backing down?"
Well, friend, I dont know.
A writer in Business Standard, Subir Roy, says that most of the babus in the governments don't even know how this act works. Accountability never really has been a problem for any government in the country, so its going to take time for the importance and uses of this act to settle in, but maybe the babus and netas can see the writing on the wall that once this happens, their days of corruption, incompetence and lethargy, are greatly reduced, if not over.
Right to information survives
The first attempt to sabotage the Right to Information Act, principally by seeking to keep file notings out of its ambit, has hopefully been defeated. This is unlikely to be the last and huge effort is needed to make the Act work in improving governance.
Eliminating file notings would have effectively killed the Act because the advice tendered and reasons cited for a particular decision are really the substance of the decision-making process. Take away the noting and you can be left with only some correspondence. This is particularly so if an administration, as is sometimes done in Karnataka, follows the “single file” system. Under it, the file itself rather than correspondence moves from office to office and everything is in the notings. Take away the notings and you are deprived of 90 per cent of the information contained in a file.
On the other hand, the knowledge on the part of officials and ministers that what they are putting down can one day become public will likely make people think twice before pursuing a course of action that will not stand up to later scrutiny.
An informal check with several officials revealed to me that they feel the Act can strengthen them in their attempt to resist pressure to give unsound advice. On the other hand, a pernicious practice currently rife is for officials to first “consult” their seniors or ministers and then make notings which will pass muster.
The problem right now is that it is an emerging law and activists feel that the state information commissioners are too soft in the way they are interpreting the ambit of the law. Even they are the second line of appeal, the first being the department appellate authority above the designated public information officer (PIO). If an official refuses to provide the information required, a commissioner can fine him Rs 250 per day of delay and a maximum of Rs 25,000, plus ask him to compensate the aggrieved party for loss suffered due to delay.
The feeling is growing among information commissioners that they should move the high court against a recalcitrant official for being in contempt of the commission, which is a quasi-judicial body. But no one has done this yet. On the other hand, an applicant displeased with the verdict of the commission can move the high court. A few instances of this are emerging.
The law has so far been used mostly by government servants seeking information to redress their own service-related grievances. Those seeking to put service-related matters outside the ambit of the law feel that it is currently being misused at considerable public expense and if this continues it will get pretty difficult to run the administration. But this is simply because government servants know best how to work their own system.
In the entire country there have till now been few instances of applicants seeking information related to policy whereas, in the ultimate analysis, the law will be best used if it becomes an aid to improving policy and its implementation.
A big responsibility in this case rests on the shoulders of the media and NGOs, which see themselves as guardians and crusaders for sound policy. Arun Jaitley has sought to use the law to seek information on the role of the CBI over Bofors. There is also a move to obtain information on the exchanges between the then President and the Prime Minister on the Gujarat violence. There should be more such instances.
There is tremendous resistance on the part of the Indian officialdom down the line to parting with information whereas half the job can be done proactively through disclosure typically via websites. Only a fraction of government servants even knows about the Act.
But hope stems from the fact that despite all the interests working against the law, it seems to have tremendous intrinsic power and it’s clearly gaining momentum.
The Government had created an Information Commission too, and had given it enough teeth to justify its formation. But as you could imagine, any good thing is shortlived when it comes to the Indian government. I am sure that in 50 years of extreme incompetence and corruption, there will be a lot of skeletons hidden in any government department's closet, and sooner or later, this act will probably try to tumble them out.
The netas and babus are a strong lobby, and more often than not, they only work for themselves. The Government of India fully agrees, and that is why it has been trying to clip the wings of the RTI act for a while now. The government wants to keep all the personal notings on government files out of the purview of the act, and this act of subversion has been meeting stiff resistance from all and sundry, including the media. Now why would the government want to do that? Well, I dont know, and I can't imagine what are the things that babus and netas keep writing on these files before they send it back into the great circle of red tape. Another less reported news was the government also wants to clip the teeth of the knowledge commission. While it currently has power to act on its own and punish people, now the government wants its role to be strictly that of a consultant.
However, help for the act came in from the most unlikely of places, from Her Majesty! They say that she parlayed against any changes to the act, and the act seems safe for now.
According to a newsitem from Rediff, the government's attempt to curb the act have been on since last year, the same year the act was introduced and passed! Man, talk about short-term objectives.
However, looking at current news stories, the government has said that no such amendments will be introduced in this current monsoon session. This probably leaves the possibility, or should i say probability, of any such amendments being introduced at a later date. Only a few days ago, some MPs from a regional party asking for a Telengana state in AP withdrew support from the UPA, and I expect the government to be busy putting that fire out.
Centre backtracks on Information Act
Official sources said Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh received many representations against the proposed amendments, aimed at deleting "file notings" from the new transparency regime.
Ms. Gandhi is believed to have advised the Government that there should be wider consultations among the stakeholders before the controversy over the file noting provisions got sorted out.
In the Government's own narrative, "file notings" were never part of the Right to Information Act as passed by Parliament.
In this narrative, neither the Group of Ministers nor the Parliamentary Standing Committee had intended to include the words "file notings" in the definition of "information" given in Section 2(f).
A controversy arose because the Central Information Commission interpreted Section 2(f) to include "file notings." As the Central Information Commissioner, O.P. Kejriwal, told the media in July 2006, "Information minus the notings amounts to taking the life out of the RTI Act."
Mr. Kejriwal's dissent prompted the Prime Minister's Office to issue an elaborate explanation on July 26, 2006. In this it was clarified that even after the amendment the "file notings of all plans, schemes and programmes of the Government that relate to the development and social issues shall be disclosed."
According to officials, it would mean that only a small portion of the file notings relating to "personnel-related matters like examination, assessment and evaluation of recruitment, disciplinary proceedings, etc." was being kept out of the disclosure purview.
Nonetheless, various sections of civil society, as also the Information Commissioners, were not mollified. Social activist Anna Hazare of Maharasthra went on a fast.
The decision to defer making changes in the Right to Information Act is in response to the protests.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The good news about this whole thing is that public pressure actually seems to be working in India. I haev said a couple of times about how Congress is prone to any kind of pressure, and that due to lack of balls, it can change any stance as long as it feels it is not pissing off the votebanks. So yes, because people are pissed, Ms. Gandhi has realized that touching it would probably be a bad idea. Now you can come up to me and ask, "Yo Vasu, the public outcry has been greater for the government's attempt to divide our economy and our educational institutions into castes, so why doesn't the government seem to be backing down?"
Well, friend, I dont know.
A writer in Business Standard, Subir Roy, says that most of the babus in the governments don't even know how this act works. Accountability never really has been a problem for any government in the country, so its going to take time for the importance and uses of this act to settle in, but maybe the babus and netas can see the writing on the wall that once this happens, their days of corruption, incompetence and lethargy, are greatly reduced, if not over.
Right to information survives
The first attempt to sabotage the Right to Information Act, principally by seeking to keep file notings out of its ambit, has hopefully been defeated. This is unlikely to be the last and huge effort is needed to make the Act work in improving governance.
Eliminating file notings would have effectively killed the Act because the advice tendered and reasons cited for a particular decision are really the substance of the decision-making process. Take away the noting and you can be left with only some correspondence. This is particularly so if an administration, as is sometimes done in Karnataka, follows the “single file” system. Under it, the file itself rather than correspondence moves from office to office and everything is in the notings. Take away the notings and you are deprived of 90 per cent of the information contained in a file.
On the other hand, the knowledge on the part of officials and ministers that what they are putting down can one day become public will likely make people think twice before pursuing a course of action that will not stand up to later scrutiny.
An informal check with several officials revealed to me that they feel the Act can strengthen them in their attempt to resist pressure to give unsound advice. On the other hand, a pernicious practice currently rife is for officials to first “consult” their seniors or ministers and then make notings which will pass muster.
The problem right now is that it is an emerging law and activists feel that the state information commissioners are too soft in the way they are interpreting the ambit of the law. Even they are the second line of appeal, the first being the department appellate authority above the designated public information officer (PIO). If an official refuses to provide the information required, a commissioner can fine him Rs 250 per day of delay and a maximum of Rs 25,000, plus ask him to compensate the aggrieved party for loss suffered due to delay.
The feeling is growing among information commissioners that they should move the high court against a recalcitrant official for being in contempt of the commission, which is a quasi-judicial body. But no one has done this yet. On the other hand, an applicant displeased with the verdict of the commission can move the high court. A few instances of this are emerging.
The law has so far been used mostly by government servants seeking information to redress their own service-related grievances. Those seeking to put service-related matters outside the ambit of the law feel that it is currently being misused at considerable public expense and if this continues it will get pretty difficult to run the administration. But this is simply because government servants know best how to work their own system.
In the entire country there have till now been few instances of applicants seeking information related to policy whereas, in the ultimate analysis, the law will be best used if it becomes an aid to improving policy and its implementation.
A big responsibility in this case rests on the shoulders of the media and NGOs, which see themselves as guardians and crusaders for sound policy. Arun Jaitley has sought to use the law to seek information on the role of the CBI over Bofors. There is also a move to obtain information on the exchanges between the then President and the Prime Minister on the Gujarat violence. There should be more such instances.
There is tremendous resistance on the part of the Indian officialdom down the line to parting with information whereas half the job can be done proactively through disclosure typically via websites. Only a fraction of government servants even knows about the Act.
But hope stems from the fact that despite all the interests working against the law, it seems to have tremendous intrinsic power and it’s clearly gaining momentum.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Ustad Bismillah Khan (1916 - 2006)
One of India's greatest musical sons is no more. Ustad Bismillah Khan, the epitome of Shehnai in the country and the world over, passed away after suffering a heart attack in Varanasi. The Government of India has declared a day of national mourning in his honour, and he will be given a full state burial. In addition, the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have also declared a day long period of mourning.
The Ustad was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001, and had played the Shehnai at the Red Fort during the eve of India's independence on August 15th, 1947. With all my heart, I salute you sir. May you rest in peace and get the respect that you deserve in heaven that you did not get on earth.
While he was one of India's finest, like every other aging musician, he was overlooked by the state and lead a quiet, austere life in the backstreets of Banaras. If I remember correctly, he had spoken out against the government's and the society's indifference to Indian classical music more than once. Indian classical music just does not get as much respect as it did many decades ago. What is really unfortunate is that it has failed to enter the mainstream. The music directors in the golden age of Indian cinema regularly produced great songs that were based on the many raagas of Indian classical, but as time progressed, it gave way to synthesizers and loud noise. His death will leave a deep void in our musical history, and I hope there will rise many more musicians in his wake.
Bismillah Khan buried
Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, who died here due to cardiac arrest early today, was buried at Fatman Graveyard this evening with full State honours.
The jawans of the armed forces fired three rounds in the air before reversing their guns as a mark of respect to the 91-year-old Bharat Ratna awardee whose moral remains were laid to rest amid religious rituals as family members bid adieu to him with tearful eyes.
Earlier, Khan's body, wrapped in the tricolour, was put in a flower decorated CRPF truck at the Beniabagh park at 1730 hours before the funeral procession left for the final journey. The procession took about 90 minutes to arrive at the graveyard at 1900 hours.
More than 10,000 people, comprising the family members, relatives and well wishers of the nonagenarian Sehnai player, participated in the funeral procession after offering funeral namaz at the Beniabagh park where the body was kept for the people to pay their last respects.
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Music academy, award in memory of Bismillah Khan
The Uttar Pradesh government announced the setting up of a music academy and institution of an award in memory of shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan, who died at Varanasi on Monday.
Making the announcement on the floor of the assembly, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said the award would carry a prize money of Rs 5 lakh. The academy will be built in the state capital at a cost of Rs 1 crore.
---------------------------------------
Inna Lilah-e wa Inna alaih-e Raje-oon (Allah has sent us here and we all shall return to Thee).
The Ustad was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001, and had played the Shehnai at the Red Fort during the eve of India's independence on August 15th, 1947. With all my heart, I salute you sir. May you rest in peace and get the respect that you deserve in heaven that you did not get on earth.
While he was one of India's finest, like every other aging musician, he was overlooked by the state and lead a quiet, austere life in the backstreets of Banaras. If I remember correctly, he had spoken out against the government's and the society's indifference to Indian classical music more than once. Indian classical music just does not get as much respect as it did many decades ago. What is really unfortunate is that it has failed to enter the mainstream. The music directors in the golden age of Indian cinema regularly produced great songs that were based on the many raagas of Indian classical, but as time progressed, it gave way to synthesizers and loud noise. His death will leave a deep void in our musical history, and I hope there will rise many more musicians in his wake.
Bismillah Khan buried
Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, who died here due to cardiac arrest early today, was buried at Fatman Graveyard this evening with full State honours.
The jawans of the armed forces fired three rounds in the air before reversing their guns as a mark of respect to the 91-year-old Bharat Ratna awardee whose moral remains were laid to rest amid religious rituals as family members bid adieu to him with tearful eyes.
Earlier, Khan's body, wrapped in the tricolour, was put in a flower decorated CRPF truck at the Beniabagh park at 1730 hours before the funeral procession left for the final journey. The procession took about 90 minutes to arrive at the graveyard at 1900 hours.
More than 10,000 people, comprising the family members, relatives and well wishers of the nonagenarian Sehnai player, participated in the funeral procession after offering funeral namaz at the Beniabagh park where the body was kept for the people to pay their last respects.
--------------------------------------------------
Music academy, award in memory of Bismillah Khan
The Uttar Pradesh government announced the setting up of a music academy and institution of an award in memory of shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan, who died at Varanasi on Monday.
Making the announcement on the floor of the assembly, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said the award would carry a prize money of Rs 5 lakh. The academy will be built in the state capital at a cost of Rs 1 crore.
---------------------------------------
Inna Lilah-e wa Inna alaih-e Raje-oon (Allah has sent us here and we all shall return to Thee).
Monday, August 14, 2006
Still going strong
Tomorrow is the Independence day of our great nation, and I can say that things look brighter today than they ever did. Only on the economic front that is. A red alert has been sounded in all big cities and security is particularly tight in Delhi and Mumbai, for very obvious reasons. The people who represent the governments of these cities don't really know, or don't really want to protect themselves.
While India still stands strong and together, our patience and benign attitude has been tested almost every day. Our enemies try to hurt us, and today, more importantly, they are recruiting their legions from within our own walls. That is an alarming situation that needs to be dealt with without further delay, but the big question is that who will do that?
It sucks that the quality of leadership has been on a downward spiral ever since we won our independence. From having quality leaders like Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Pandit Nehru (no matter how much I now think his policies made no sense), and right into our independent India. The last decade and this has seen some quality leadership too, but Indian politics, as it stands today, is given to the rigors and demands of coalition politics, and these demands do not necessarily match the demands of the nation.
Meanwhile, the violence continues unabated in J&K. Every year it is the same story of innocent deaths in different parts of the state, in a message to the government of India that the terrorists will not let these people lead a normal life, but a life that is Jihadized and steeped in the ideology of Pakistan, i.e. Muslims can't live with any other religion, Hindus in particular.
Despite my optimism, I can honestly say that our country seems weaker today that it ever was. We are taking a beating domestically. The problems in the north-east and the north are still there, but now we can add the naxal problem and the threat of our enemies seeping through our society, recruiting Indians who will act against their own country, while our politicians will prefer to look the other way. But here is an opportunity for us to remind ourselves of our allegience, remind ourselves that the tricolor still stands strong and that these enemies won't matter if we can put our hearts and minds together and work towards a better, more secure future for us and for our children.
While India still stands strong and together, our patience and benign attitude has been tested almost every day. Our enemies try to hurt us, and today, more importantly, they are recruiting their legions from within our own walls. That is an alarming situation that needs to be dealt with without further delay, but the big question is that who will do that?
It sucks that the quality of leadership has been on a downward spiral ever since we won our independence. From having quality leaders like Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Pandit Nehru (no matter how much I now think his policies made no sense), and right into our independent India. The last decade and this has seen some quality leadership too, but Indian politics, as it stands today, is given to the rigors and demands of coalition politics, and these demands do not necessarily match the demands of the nation.
Meanwhile, the violence continues unabated in J&K. Every year it is the same story of innocent deaths in different parts of the state, in a message to the government of India that the terrorists will not let these people lead a normal life, but a life that is Jihadized and steeped in the ideology of Pakistan, i.e. Muslims can't live with any other religion, Hindus in particular.
Despite my optimism, I can honestly say that our country seems weaker today that it ever was. We are taking a beating domestically. The problems in the north-east and the north are still there, but now we can add the naxal problem and the threat of our enemies seeping through our society, recruiting Indians who will act against their own country, while our politicians will prefer to look the other way. But here is an opportunity for us to remind ourselves of our allegience, remind ourselves that the tricolor still stands strong and that these enemies won't matter if we can put our hearts and minds together and work towards a better, more secure future for us and for our children.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
ban on child labor
India passed a far-reaching legislation last week. It banned the employment of children under 14 in all domestic households, all roadside tea shops and other hotels and restaurants. Many people feel that while it is really difficult to monitor all such areas where children are routinely employed, this legislation will give teeth to the drive to stop this practice.
Heres my question though, what happens to all the children that are rescued from this fate of having to work countless hours without an opportunity to go to school or move ahead in life? What India needs is a system, strongly supported by the common man, a system in which disadvantaged children are taken care of. They are sent to school, and provided avenues for growth and given all the facilities that will give them a childhood that most of us reading this blog have had.
The economics behind the employment of children in this industries is very strong and very compelling. Children need to go to work to support their poor, and in most cases, large families. Their work gets food on the table, and it will take something drastic and large scale to replace this system.
Law enforcement was never really any Indian government's forte, and I am certain they will consider it their job done with the passing of this legislation. Follow-up is a word unknown in the government dictionary.
Shyamal Majumdar: Child labour ban: If wishes were horses...
As long as the little worker is a mouth less for poor families to feed, the law will continue to be flouted.
The NGOs are euphoric and the government hasn’t stopped congratulating itself for this wonderful piece of legislation. Last week, India, home to the world’s largest number of child labourers (the official estimate is 11 million though the actual figure is over 75 million), banned children from working as domestic servants or at hotels, tea shops, restaurants and resorts.
These sectors now have roughly 60 days to sack their little labourers. The latest ban is merely an extension of the existing law — the Child Labour Act, 1986 — under which children are prohibited from working in hazardous industrial units.
“If wishes were horses, law could change men’s minds,” says a former official in the Maharashtra labour department. He gives three documents that give a graphic description of how the law is flouted openly even 20 years after it came into effect.
The first is an ANI report on the stone quarries in West Bengal’s Siliguri district, where hundreds of children, driven by hunger and poverty, are forced to engage in stone crushing activity. “Children spend eight hours a day by the riverside, fishing out stones and breaking them into gravel with hand tools twice the size of their tiny hands. Most of these kids are the crucial breadwinners for their even younger siblings,” the report says.
Employed through contract companies, they lose a sizeable chunk of their money to middlemen, ultimately earning a meagre amount which is not enough to buy them even one complete meal.
The second example is of a slaughter house at Parbhani, a small town in Maharashtra. Over half of the workers at the slaughter house were children aged between six and 14. They had to cut, skin and break the bones of cattle. Some had to even blow into the spleen of the dead cattle. They were rescued and put into coaching classes not by the law-enforcing authorities but by SETU, an NGO, and Unicef.
A report brought out by the two organisations quotes the children as saying that they had to force the animals down with their tiny hands and then cut it. One of the children, aged 10, said it was horrible to hear the screams of the animals.
The third example is a study by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions on child labour in Sivakasi. The children, who are paid Rs 15-18 a day, are used to dye outer paper, make small firecrackers, roll the powder and pack the final product. What makes identification difficult is that they work in unlicensed fireworks factories working under sub-contracts. Managers employing children either register their age as being above 14 or do not register them at all. Another NGO, Development Action for Women in Need, highlights the hazards of dealing with poisonous materials such as sulphur, salt peter, barium and strontium nitrates, and says it has noted underdevelopment of the uterus in young girls who squat for long hours making paper rolls.
These three heart-rending examples of open violation of the law are reasons why there is so much of cynicism about the effectiveness of the latest ban.
That legislation can have only a negligible impact is apparent from the fact that child labour is nothing but a by-product of grinding poverty. These children are holding out a slim lifeline to impoverished families, or are just trying to keep themselves from starvation. For example, in about 60 per cent of the Sivakasi households with working children, two-thirds of the total income is contributed by children.
The dilemma is similar to that of the ban on dance bars in Mumbai on the grounds that it would put an end to the exploitation of these women. What happened to those 70,000-odd bar girls after the ban? Some became prostitutes, some went back home only to be ostracised and some committed suicide.
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The situation is much, much graver than we think it is. For us, seeing a working child is very commonplace, and we think nothing of it. We need to change that attitude, and I am hoping that the passing of this legislation will bring renewed interest and efforts into getting our children out of these conditions and giving them a childhood that they deserve.
We know the government can't do jack shit. The Human Resources Development ministry never really has been a doer, in fact, its always been a tool for the government to put its propaganda into the mainstream, and currently, it is led by a senile, wily old man who does not give a damn about the future of this country. The common citizens have to get together and tell themselves to not employ children in their households. But our first priority should be to get the millions of children out of the stone quarries, fireworks factories and slaughter houses. O Lord make us see the light.
Heres my question though, what happens to all the children that are rescued from this fate of having to work countless hours without an opportunity to go to school or move ahead in life? What India needs is a system, strongly supported by the common man, a system in which disadvantaged children are taken care of. They are sent to school, and provided avenues for growth and given all the facilities that will give them a childhood that most of us reading this blog have had.
The economics behind the employment of children in this industries is very strong and very compelling. Children need to go to work to support their poor, and in most cases, large families. Their work gets food on the table, and it will take something drastic and large scale to replace this system.
Law enforcement was never really any Indian government's forte, and I am certain they will consider it their job done with the passing of this legislation. Follow-up is a word unknown in the government dictionary.
Shyamal Majumdar: Child labour ban: If wishes were horses...
As long as the little worker is a mouth less for poor families to feed, the law will continue to be flouted.
The NGOs are euphoric and the government hasn’t stopped congratulating itself for this wonderful piece of legislation. Last week, India, home to the world’s largest number of child labourers (the official estimate is 11 million though the actual figure is over 75 million), banned children from working as domestic servants or at hotels, tea shops, restaurants and resorts.
These sectors now have roughly 60 days to sack their little labourers. The latest ban is merely an extension of the existing law — the Child Labour Act, 1986 — under which children are prohibited from working in hazardous industrial units.
“If wishes were horses, law could change men’s minds,” says a former official in the Maharashtra labour department. He gives three documents that give a graphic description of how the law is flouted openly even 20 years after it came into effect.
The first is an ANI report on the stone quarries in West Bengal’s Siliguri district, where hundreds of children, driven by hunger and poverty, are forced to engage in stone crushing activity. “Children spend eight hours a day by the riverside, fishing out stones and breaking them into gravel with hand tools twice the size of their tiny hands. Most of these kids are the crucial breadwinners for their even younger siblings,” the report says.
Employed through contract companies, they lose a sizeable chunk of their money to middlemen, ultimately earning a meagre amount which is not enough to buy them even one complete meal.
The second example is of a slaughter house at Parbhani, a small town in Maharashtra. Over half of the workers at the slaughter house were children aged between six and 14. They had to cut, skin and break the bones of cattle. Some had to even blow into the spleen of the dead cattle. They were rescued and put into coaching classes not by the law-enforcing authorities but by SETU, an NGO, and Unicef.
A report brought out by the two organisations quotes the children as saying that they had to force the animals down with their tiny hands and then cut it. One of the children, aged 10, said it was horrible to hear the screams of the animals.
The third example is a study by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions on child labour in Sivakasi. The children, who are paid Rs 15-18 a day, are used to dye outer paper, make small firecrackers, roll the powder and pack the final product. What makes identification difficult is that they work in unlicensed fireworks factories working under sub-contracts. Managers employing children either register their age as being above 14 or do not register them at all. Another NGO, Development Action for Women in Need, highlights the hazards of dealing with poisonous materials such as sulphur, salt peter, barium and strontium nitrates, and says it has noted underdevelopment of the uterus in young girls who squat for long hours making paper rolls.
These three heart-rending examples of open violation of the law are reasons why there is so much of cynicism about the effectiveness of the latest ban.
That legislation can have only a negligible impact is apparent from the fact that child labour is nothing but a by-product of grinding poverty. These children are holding out a slim lifeline to impoverished families, or are just trying to keep themselves from starvation. For example, in about 60 per cent of the Sivakasi households with working children, two-thirds of the total income is contributed by children.
The dilemma is similar to that of the ban on dance bars in Mumbai on the grounds that it would put an end to the exploitation of these women. What happened to those 70,000-odd bar girls after the ban? Some became prostitutes, some went back home only to be ostracised and some committed suicide.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The situation is much, much graver than we think it is. For us, seeing a working child is very commonplace, and we think nothing of it. We need to change that attitude, and I am hoping that the passing of this legislation will bring renewed interest and efforts into getting our children out of these conditions and giving them a childhood that they deserve.
We know the government can't do jack shit. The Human Resources Development ministry never really has been a doer, in fact, its always been a tool for the government to put its propaganda into the mainstream, and currently, it is led by a senile, wily old man who does not give a damn about the future of this country. The common citizens have to get together and tell themselves to not employ children in their households. But our first priority should be to get the millions of children out of the stone quarries, fireworks factories and slaughter houses. O Lord make us see the light.
Monday, August 07, 2006
India in the Football World Cup?
I don't know what happened to Indian football. We used to be so good in the 50's and 60's, we won the Asian championships, and were always high up in the FIFA rankings. I guess like the rest of the country, football also started to rot, and its really unfortunate that even today, we are still trying to find out football legs.
Sure we have the NFL, or the National Football League, which is more than a decade old too, but the media interest it generates is miniscule, what to talk of merchandise income, which is negligible, if there is any at all. For long the only sponsors that the NFL could find are large public sector undertakings which for all i know, were only there because the government forced them to.
Some games do generate a lot of interests, but even then, one can confidently say that the NFL only creates a stir in a few select states of the country. The usual suspects are West Bengal, with its traditional Mohun Bagan - East Bengal rivalry, Goa, and probably the Punjab, Kerala, the north-east and a few other pockets. Some people say its because of the traditional club structure of the league, with clubs more or less presenting themselves rather than their cities. Most of the clubs are concentrated in Goa and WB, with a smattering of clubs in Mumbai, Punjab, and other parts of South India.
In hockey, they started the Premier Hockey League, which is formatted to make it media friendly. It is tiered, and is based on cities. The Tier I has teams such as Bangalore Lions, Sher-e-Punjabs etc, and tier II has cities such as Imphal Rangers and Lucknow Nawabs. While this culture is still to catch on, I am hoping it will spread eventually, with the league taking a life of its own and be able to sustain itself in the long run. The IHF, that dear old enemy of Indian hockey IHF, has signed pacts with various sports channels in the country to telecast matches, and there is a plan to push its merchandise as well. Its games are on a home and away basis, but its only in the name. All the games are only played in one venue, which changes every year. Hopefully they plan to take it to the next level and choose more venues, and encourage the teams to start developing their own stadiums and revenues sources. As for the media, well, hopefully the media push and more tv coverage will mean more interest and more people in the stands.
I want the same for Indian football. I am sure cities would love to host their own teams. Delhi has a big football base, and so has my small city of Dehradun. All the cities in the country can benefit from such a format.
Only yesterday I was telling my friend that I think Indians are too wound up. For some reason we are very reluctant to have fun and just chill out. All this stress on hard work and making ends meet really leaves no time for anything else, and other than national cricket, India seems to have no other everlasting sporting culture. Despite the highest standards, our domestic cricket still suffers from lack of media space and lack of viewers.
Anyways, the All India Football Federation had appointed a new coach for the Indian football team a couple of weeks ago, and he said that India might actually qualify for the World Cup in the next 8 years! Maybe thats being too optimistic, but if he can manage to change the way the AIFF thinks and bring about some European style class and format to our game, fuck yeah people will watch it.
India in FIFA WC? Possible by 2014
Kolkata: Dreams of many Indians to see their country playing in the FIFA World Cup may turn out to be true and it could be as early as 2014 edition of the World Cup.
The newly appointed national coach of the Indian soccer team Bob Hougton on Sunday expressed hope that Team India may qualify for World Cup in the next eight years.
Pinning on some "remarkable developments" that is going to take place in the Indian football scene, Hougton said: "It seems to me that if India does not qualify for the world Cup in 2010, but some where around the year 2014 or 2018 the team can go up because of some remarkable development which is going to happen here".
Addressing a press conference before India's qualifying match for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 against Saudi Arabia, Houghton said with better facility and more money provided for the development of the game, young players could be urged to get involved with the game.
In his 30-year coaching career, the Englishman has trained players in Europe, Africa and Asia.
----------------------------------------------------
The article is really vague and short though. What remarkable developments is he talking about? Its been said a lot of times before, lets hope it stands true this time. Inshallah.
Sure we have the NFL, or the National Football League, which is more than a decade old too, but the media interest it generates is miniscule, what to talk of merchandise income, which is negligible, if there is any at all. For long the only sponsors that the NFL could find are large public sector undertakings which for all i know, were only there because the government forced them to.
Some games do generate a lot of interests, but even then, one can confidently say that the NFL only creates a stir in a few select states of the country. The usual suspects are West Bengal, with its traditional Mohun Bagan - East Bengal rivalry, Goa, and probably the Punjab, Kerala, the north-east and a few other pockets. Some people say its because of the traditional club structure of the league, with clubs more or less presenting themselves rather than their cities. Most of the clubs are concentrated in Goa and WB, with a smattering of clubs in Mumbai, Punjab, and other parts of South India.
In hockey, they started the Premier Hockey League, which is formatted to make it media friendly. It is tiered, and is based on cities. The Tier I has teams such as Bangalore Lions, Sher-e-Punjabs etc, and tier II has cities such as Imphal Rangers and Lucknow Nawabs. While this culture is still to catch on, I am hoping it will spread eventually, with the league taking a life of its own and be able to sustain itself in the long run. The IHF, that dear old enemy of Indian hockey IHF, has signed pacts with various sports channels in the country to telecast matches, and there is a plan to push its merchandise as well. Its games are on a home and away basis, but its only in the name. All the games are only played in one venue, which changes every year. Hopefully they plan to take it to the next level and choose more venues, and encourage the teams to start developing their own stadiums and revenues sources. As for the media, well, hopefully the media push and more tv coverage will mean more interest and more people in the stands.
I want the same for Indian football. I am sure cities would love to host their own teams. Delhi has a big football base, and so has my small city of Dehradun. All the cities in the country can benefit from such a format.
Only yesterday I was telling my friend that I think Indians are too wound up. For some reason we are very reluctant to have fun and just chill out. All this stress on hard work and making ends meet really leaves no time for anything else, and other than national cricket, India seems to have no other everlasting sporting culture. Despite the highest standards, our domestic cricket still suffers from lack of media space and lack of viewers.
Anyways, the All India Football Federation had appointed a new coach for the Indian football team a couple of weeks ago, and he said that India might actually qualify for the World Cup in the next 8 years! Maybe thats being too optimistic, but if he can manage to change the way the AIFF thinks and bring about some European style class and format to our game, fuck yeah people will watch it.
India in FIFA WC? Possible by 2014
Kolkata: Dreams of many Indians to see their country playing in the FIFA World Cup may turn out to be true and it could be as early as 2014 edition of the World Cup.
The newly appointed national coach of the Indian soccer team Bob Hougton on Sunday expressed hope that Team India may qualify for World Cup in the next eight years.
Pinning on some "remarkable developments" that is going to take place in the Indian football scene, Hougton said: "It seems to me that if India does not qualify for the world Cup in 2010, but some where around the year 2014 or 2018 the team can go up because of some remarkable development which is going to happen here".
Addressing a press conference before India's qualifying match for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 against Saudi Arabia, Houghton said with better facility and more money provided for the development of the game, young players could be urged to get involved with the game.
In his 30-year coaching career, the Englishman has trained players in Europe, Africa and Asia.
----------------------------------------------------
The article is really vague and short though. What remarkable developments is he talking about? Its been said a lot of times before, lets hope it stands true this time. Inshallah.
Friday, August 04, 2006
right to some information
The Right to Information Act is slowly bringing a change in our society that has always taken government obscurity for granted. We have grown up in a culture where we just don't care about how the government functions, and the governments themselves have made it an art form to be as indirect and secretive as possible.
On a similar theme, I think that many governments have always given us the impression that the only entity that can be trusted with the security of this country is the government itself. The common man deserves to not know what's going on, and that set-up has been going on for decades. I believe the governments always tell themselves that we must protect India from the Indians themselves, because they sure as hell can't protect it from outsiders.
So when the government brought about the Right to Information Act, it was a pleasant surprise, and I was left wondering what made the government attempt to lift the haze around the way it does business.
But the thing is, any government philanthropy is usually shortlived, and the government shakes itself out of its benign state and reminds itself that its here to grab the riches and power of this country for itself, not for the puny little common man.
Just like its attempted clampdown on internet media, the government is looking to dilute the RTI as well, and just when it was making inroads into the lives of those grieved by the incompetence and tyranny of our many governments and their soldiers.
Its an old story now, but heres whats going on. Earlier, citizens had the right to obtain full information on any government file when demanded, of course barring some really sensitive areas such as defense, nuclear establishments etc, but now the government is keep to amend the bill and keep certain public notings on files made by officials out of the ambit of the act. More than anything, what it seems to me is an attempt by the bureaucracy to protect itself after years of sub-standard work. Anything could have been written on those files, we don't know, and the bureaucrats sure don't want us to know either.
RTI Act amended, file notes excluded
New Delhi: In a move that could restrict the Right to Information, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the introduction of a bill in Parliament to amend the present law to exclude from public notings on files by officials in 'a few areas'.
The decision has been done following objections raised by some government organisations, like UPSC, that file notings should not be made public, Information Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet cleared the amendment.
Dasmunsi said there were 'certain ambiguities' in the Right to Information Act 2005 and file notings in a 'few areas' could be exempted. He said such exemptions are granted in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Thursday slammed the government on the Right To Information (RTI) Act, saying it was brought into force with a big hype, but it turned out to be a damp squib.
Talking to mediapersons, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley said a big hype was created over the Act with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh going to the extent of advocating to make official notings public.
But as disclosures were becoming more and more embarrassing, the government was now saying that certain facts could not be revealed. He said he had filed a petition under the RTI Act to get the details of the correspondence between CBI and Crown Prosecution of London. But it had not been made available to him on the ground that the Bofors case was still on.
------------------------------------------------
So the government wants to cut the act's power because it has started to cause embarrassment to the various organizations and departments. How bloody predictable no?
As if that wasn't enough, the government is also planning to cut the powers of the Central Information Commission, a body it set up to oversee the proper implementation of the new act. Ah Congress and your worthless allies, if you had your way, you would probably put blinders on all citizens and add a hymn that we would have to sing everyday of your greatness.
Govt plans to reduce powers of CIC
In another blow to the RTI act, the government plans to further reduce the powers of the Central Information Commission by now transferring the right to take a final decision on complaints against officers who do not give out information to citizens.
Till now the commission had the final say in most matters and enjoyed the powers of a civil court and could summon officers, ask for documents and even impose fines.The proposed amendment may end up reducing the CIC to only giving recommendations to the state and central government, which would have the final say.
Campaigners are planning to launch a nationwide campaign next week in protest of the proposed amendments.
----------------------------------------
I dont know why the government is trying to keep up with this farce. They have no intention of doing anything remotely beneficial for us, so why are they pretending they are trying? I think this country will be burning by the time the traitors and thieves in the Con'gress and its posse get done with their plan to rape and plunder it.
On a similar theme, I think that many governments have always given us the impression that the only entity that can be trusted with the security of this country is the government itself. The common man deserves to not know what's going on, and that set-up has been going on for decades. I believe the governments always tell themselves that we must protect India from the Indians themselves, because they sure as hell can't protect it from outsiders.
So when the government brought about the Right to Information Act, it was a pleasant surprise, and I was left wondering what made the government attempt to lift the haze around the way it does business.
But the thing is, any government philanthropy is usually shortlived, and the government shakes itself out of its benign state and reminds itself that its here to grab the riches and power of this country for itself, not for the puny little common man.
Just like its attempted clampdown on internet media, the government is looking to dilute the RTI as well, and just when it was making inroads into the lives of those grieved by the incompetence and tyranny of our many governments and their soldiers.
Its an old story now, but heres whats going on. Earlier, citizens had the right to obtain full information on any government file when demanded, of course barring some really sensitive areas such as defense, nuclear establishments etc, but now the government is keep to amend the bill and keep certain public notings on files made by officials out of the ambit of the act. More than anything, what it seems to me is an attempt by the bureaucracy to protect itself after years of sub-standard work. Anything could have been written on those files, we don't know, and the bureaucrats sure don't want us to know either.
RTI Act amended, file notes excluded
New Delhi: In a move that could restrict the Right to Information, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the introduction of a bill in Parliament to amend the present law to exclude from public notings on files by officials in 'a few areas'.
The decision has been done following objections raised by some government organisations, like UPSC, that file notings should not be made public, Information Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet cleared the amendment.
Dasmunsi said there were 'certain ambiguities' in the Right to Information Act 2005 and file notings in a 'few areas' could be exempted. He said such exemptions are granted in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Thursday slammed the government on the Right To Information (RTI) Act, saying it was brought into force with a big hype, but it turned out to be a damp squib.
Talking to mediapersons, BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley said a big hype was created over the Act with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh going to the extent of advocating to make official notings public.
But as disclosures were becoming more and more embarrassing, the government was now saying that certain facts could not be revealed. He said he had filed a petition under the RTI Act to get the details of the correspondence between CBI and Crown Prosecution of London. But it had not been made available to him on the ground that the Bofors case was still on.
------------------------------------------------
So the government wants to cut the act's power because it has started to cause embarrassment to the various organizations and departments. How bloody predictable no?
As if that wasn't enough, the government is also planning to cut the powers of the Central Information Commission, a body it set up to oversee the proper implementation of the new act. Ah Congress and your worthless allies, if you had your way, you would probably put blinders on all citizens and add a hymn that we would have to sing everyday of your greatness.
Govt plans to reduce powers of CIC
In another blow to the RTI act, the government plans to further reduce the powers of the Central Information Commission by now transferring the right to take a final decision on complaints against officers who do not give out information to citizens.
Till now the commission had the final say in most matters and enjoyed the powers of a civil court and could summon officers, ask for documents and even impose fines.The proposed amendment may end up reducing the CIC to only giving recommendations to the state and central government, which would have the final say.
Campaigners are planning to launch a nationwide campaign next week in protest of the proposed amendments.
----------------------------------------
I dont know why the government is trying to keep up with this farce. They have no intention of doing anything remotely beneficial for us, so why are they pretending they are trying? I think this country will be burning by the time the traitors and thieves in the Con'gress and its posse get done with their plan to rape and plunder it.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The changing response to national security
Blasts have become commonplace in India. Each blast follows a predictable pattern in the country. People die, places destroyed, the common man comes through in the hour of crisis with exemplary courage and brotherhood, and the Government of India expresses shock, anger, and many other emotions all over the media, and some big politicians head out to the blast site and shed crocodile tears and announce compensation to the dead and injured. A few days, weeks later the brouhaha dies down, the people get on living their lives, and the government gets back to being the impotent, incompetent government that it was.
This cycle is a near certain occurance in almost every national tragedy, and Mumbai blasts seemed no different. Heres the sad thing about the country, it still has to feel pain for all its parts. For example, the rest of the country doesn't give much attention to our north-east, and say if there was a tragedy in a remote village in Manipur and 300 lives were lost, I am sure the uproar would have been lost sooner than later. The same is the case with Kashmir. People in the rest of the country seem to be taking tragedies in our north-east and Kashmir for granted, and any such occurance does not draw an extra dram of anger and resolve from either our media and most certainly not from our government.
But Mumbai is a different story. Being the economic heart, and being the one true Indian product, a tragedy in Mumbai generates interest and anger. The Mumbai blasts in '93 had everyone saying, never again. Everyone except the respective governments that is. The underworld remained the same, and more crime and anti-national activity only added to it.
So when the 11/7 blasts occured, once again the people of Mumbai came through, just like they did when the city was paralysed by floods which the bloody netas had promised were taken care of. But this time people wanted the government to take action. They wanted the netas to fight the enemies of the state and they wanted results. Of course most of us probably know that the government's response since then has been just as confused and pusillanimous as it has always been. But the anger of the people did spur them into taking some decisions on the domestic front. It seems security at public places is being stepped up, the police modernization plan is being revived, etc etc.
An important development was the establishment of the RAW office at Lucknow. This is a welcome step, because now RAW can be closest to the biggest bunch of traitors and anti-nationals while keeping an eye out for all the dirty dealings on the UP-Nepal border.
Govt to unveil mega city security plan
NEW DELHI: A mega city security plan is proposed to be put in place in several cities to deal with terror attacks, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The government has also decided to raise 300 battalions of Central para-military forces fully equipped with modern weapons and communication system, Patil said in his reply to a marathon discussion on increasing incidents of terrorist violence in the country.
He said a sum of Rs 4,184 crore would be spent for modernisation of Central para-military forces. To deal with terror and other violent incidents, it has been decided to allow Maharashtra government to raise two battalions of Indian Reserve Foce at a cost of Rs 100 crore, he said.
Patil said India needs a mega city plan to protect its big cities from terrorist attacks and cameras need to be installed on a large scale. The Minister announced that a security plan for the Delhi Metro is almost complete and Kolkata Metro, and those proposing to have a metro like Bangalore, can implement the same if it is suitable to them.
The Home Minister said metro rails will be given full security with all assistance from the Centre. He said more manpower and modern gadgets will be required and experiences of other countries in dealing with similar situation will be shared.
He said the government has almost put in place a plan to tackle terrorists hiding in forests. He said states have to frame mega city policies and Centre will extend all kind of help.
Condemning the "dastardly" act of terror in Mumbai, Patil said there was a need to revamp the security system and this should include use of helicopters and other modern equipment. Stating the Railways and various ministries and departments are engaged in a plan to provide better security, Patil said "if necessary, laws can be changed and new laws can be made".
He said the coordination between Railways and the state police needed to be tuned up and this aspect is being looked into by the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board. The Minister said soon necessary steps would be taken and this would include infusion of new technology.
Patil said once Mumbai prepared a mega city security plan and forwarded it to the Centre, the "Government of India will definitely look at this plan and if found suitable, the same plan can be used for other mega cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore".
He said the government would also take measures to sensitise the authorities in vital installations. Patil said the Centre had provided vital information to states on possible terror attacks though sometimes it could falter on the exact place of attack.
The Minister said cameras would play a major role in help maintain vigil against any attack and the Parliament terror attack was foiled to a great extent due to camera facilities.
He said the government would look into the possibility of installing more cameras at sensitive places. Stressing on the need to augment police forces, Patil said on an average there was one policeman for a population of 740-750 in India as against one police personnel for 82 citizens in Russia. In India, if one takes into account the use of police force to meet requirement of issuing summons and notices, the ratio would decline to one policeman for 900 people.
Patil said about Rs 314 crore are given for meeting security related expenses and this excluded funds for modernisation and construction of new jails. He said a sum of Rs 192 crore has been provided for construction of new jails.
He also said the Government was keen on bringing about all round economic development to prevent the people from getting misguided and added that special emphasis was being laid on the northeastern region and naxal-hit areas.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air patrol in Mumbai, Delhi to check terrorism
Stung by the Mumbai blasts and with clear indications that there was not going to be any let up in the terror offensive against India, Centre is considering introducing helicopter patrol in the Capital and Mumbai as part of a larger plan to protect bigger cities.
Home minister Shivraj Patil said the Capital, along with Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, are being encouraged to install a network of CCTVs and cameras in the lines of Singapore as part of measures that may have to be put in place to deter and investigate terror-related crimes.
The helicopters, proposed to be made available to the police in New Delhi and Mumbai, will be equipped with sophisticated gadgets and high-beam lights to better patrol the lanes and by-lanes of the two metropolis.
Patil, who was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said similar measures can be considered for other metros - Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore - if the experience of New Delhi and Mumbai turns out to be beneficial.
-------------------------------------------------------------
But as Mr. Arun Shourie said recently, third class governance can't give first-class response to terrorism. And that is what this government is, a third rate entity that does not care about the country, but only about its own hold on power.
This cycle is a near certain occurance in almost every national tragedy, and Mumbai blasts seemed no different. Heres the sad thing about the country, it still has to feel pain for all its parts. For example, the rest of the country doesn't give much attention to our north-east, and say if there was a tragedy in a remote village in Manipur and 300 lives were lost, I am sure the uproar would have been lost sooner than later. The same is the case with Kashmir. People in the rest of the country seem to be taking tragedies in our north-east and Kashmir for granted, and any such occurance does not draw an extra dram of anger and resolve from either our media and most certainly not from our government.
But Mumbai is a different story. Being the economic heart, and being the one true Indian product, a tragedy in Mumbai generates interest and anger. The Mumbai blasts in '93 had everyone saying, never again. Everyone except the respective governments that is. The underworld remained the same, and more crime and anti-national activity only added to it.
So when the 11/7 blasts occured, once again the people of Mumbai came through, just like they did when the city was paralysed by floods which the bloody netas had promised were taken care of. But this time people wanted the government to take action. They wanted the netas to fight the enemies of the state and they wanted results. Of course most of us probably know that the government's response since then has been just as confused and pusillanimous as it has always been. But the anger of the people did spur them into taking some decisions on the domestic front. It seems security at public places is being stepped up, the police modernization plan is being revived, etc etc.
An important development was the establishment of the RAW office at Lucknow. This is a welcome step, because now RAW can be closest to the biggest bunch of traitors and anti-nationals while keeping an eye out for all the dirty dealings on the UP-Nepal border.
Govt to unveil mega city security plan
NEW DELHI: A mega city security plan is proposed to be put in place in several cities to deal with terror attacks, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The government has also decided to raise 300 battalions of Central para-military forces fully equipped with modern weapons and communication system, Patil said in his reply to a marathon discussion on increasing incidents of terrorist violence in the country.
He said a sum of Rs 4,184 crore would be spent for modernisation of Central para-military forces. To deal with terror and other violent incidents, it has been decided to allow Maharashtra government to raise two battalions of Indian Reserve Foce at a cost of Rs 100 crore, he said.
Patil said India needs a mega city plan to protect its big cities from terrorist attacks and cameras need to be installed on a large scale. The Minister announced that a security plan for the Delhi Metro is almost complete and Kolkata Metro, and those proposing to have a metro like Bangalore, can implement the same if it is suitable to them.
The Home Minister said metro rails will be given full security with all assistance from the Centre. He said more manpower and modern gadgets will be required and experiences of other countries in dealing with similar situation will be shared.
He said the government has almost put in place a plan to tackle terrorists hiding in forests. He said states have to frame mega city policies and Centre will extend all kind of help.
Condemning the "dastardly" act of terror in Mumbai, Patil said there was a need to revamp the security system and this should include use of helicopters and other modern equipment. Stating the Railways and various ministries and departments are engaged in a plan to provide better security, Patil said "if necessary, laws can be changed and new laws can be made".
He said the coordination between Railways and the state police needed to be tuned up and this aspect is being looked into by the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board. The Minister said soon necessary steps would be taken and this would include infusion of new technology.
Patil said once Mumbai prepared a mega city security plan and forwarded it to the Centre, the "Government of India will definitely look at this plan and if found suitable, the same plan can be used for other mega cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore".
He said the government would also take measures to sensitise the authorities in vital installations. Patil said the Centre had provided vital information to states on possible terror attacks though sometimes it could falter on the exact place of attack.
The Minister said cameras would play a major role in help maintain vigil against any attack and the Parliament terror attack was foiled to a great extent due to camera facilities.
He said the government would look into the possibility of installing more cameras at sensitive places. Stressing on the need to augment police forces, Patil said on an average there was one policeman for a population of 740-750 in India as against one police personnel for 82 citizens in Russia. In India, if one takes into account the use of police force to meet requirement of issuing summons and notices, the ratio would decline to one policeman for 900 people.
Patil said about Rs 314 crore are given for meeting security related expenses and this excluded funds for modernisation and construction of new jails. He said a sum of Rs 192 crore has been provided for construction of new jails.
He also said the Government was keen on bringing about all round economic development to prevent the people from getting misguided and added that special emphasis was being laid on the northeastern region and naxal-hit areas.
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Air patrol in Mumbai, Delhi to check terrorism
Stung by the Mumbai blasts and with clear indications that there was not going to be any let up in the terror offensive against India, Centre is considering introducing helicopter patrol in the Capital and Mumbai as part of a larger plan to protect bigger cities.
Home minister Shivraj Patil said the Capital, along with Mumbai and other metropolitan cities, are being encouraged to install a network of CCTVs and cameras in the lines of Singapore as part of measures that may have to be put in place to deter and investigate terror-related crimes.
The helicopters, proposed to be made available to the police in New Delhi and Mumbai, will be equipped with sophisticated gadgets and high-beam lights to better patrol the lanes and by-lanes of the two metropolis.
Patil, who was replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, said similar measures can be considered for other metros - Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore - if the experience of New Delhi and Mumbai turns out to be beneficial.
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But as Mr. Arun Shourie said recently, third class governance can't give first-class response to terrorism. And that is what this government is, a third rate entity that does not care about the country, but only about its own hold on power.
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